Be silly

Distant Memory --- some yapping under the cut ✨---------

The moon washed the beach in silver light, glistening white sand churning under pawpads with every step. Hazepaw moved silently across the open stretch of land, hoping not to be spotted by the returning sundown patrol. He was on his way to meet Moonpaw. Eagerness put urgency in his pace. He was excited to see the beautiful she-cat after spending some time apart.

The more Hazepaw thought about catching her scent--of fresh green leaves and earthy plant mulch--the more nostalgic he felt. And it'd only been two nights since they last saw each other. Perhaps a small portion of it was from missing the Forest Patch, and all he'd come to enjoy about it. But Hazepaw knew deep down his emotions were linked purely to Moonpaw.

What had she been up to since they last met, he wondered. He couldn't wait to tell her about the move, and the day he had fishing with his friends. Moonpaw would be intrigued to hear what little Hazepaw had heard about Silverpelt and her relationship with the ocean, too. Excitement prickled every fur strand on Hazepaw's pelt as he caught the line of trees on the horizon. He sped up to a steady gate, until he padded right alongside of the edge of the forest. Leaves rustled in the steady breeze that had picked up come evening. They shivered and swayed, pointing in the direction Hazepaw was going. Perhaps it was a sign from Starclan itself that visiting tonight was a good idea. The thought only served to thrill Hazepaw more.

Soon a jagged, unorganized cluster of rocks came within sight, warning the fluffy white tom to rely on his senses and take things slow.

Hazepaw came to a halt three bear-lengths from the Rubble Path, parting his jaws to taste the air. He drew the smells of the woods over his scent glands, searching deeply for anything familiar in the air. At first there was nothing. But then the wind shifted, and Hazepaw recognized something. Moonpaw! His heart leaped as he waited in place, listening for the soft mew of his friend calling him over.

"...Are you out there?" He heard Moonpaw mew, her voice hushed and laced with what Hazepaw swore was sadness and hesitation. Hazepaw trilled, walking toward the silver and white she-cat's line of sight.

"Hey," he purred, smiling up at her. He paused near the base of the Rubble Path, front paws placed upon a stones. It was from this distance he noticed a look on Moonpaw's face; something negative melting into relief.

"Hazepaw..!" Moonpaw breathed, practically flying down the cluster of rocks to reach him. "I thought you wouldn't show up again!"

"Why wouldn't I? I don't plan on missing our meetings anytime soon."

"But you didn't show up to the Gathering," she pointed out. "I was worried you wouldn't come tonight either."

"Well I'm here," Hazepaw proclaimed with a purr. "I had something important to take care of at camp that night."

"But you couldn't have come yesterday instead to tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd come out last night. We usually meet every other."

"Right," she agreed, "but with you missing out on the Gathering, I thought you'd want to make up for it. I'd hoped...I really wish you would have." There was a quiver in her mew, a tone he hadn't heard since Moonpaw had lost her brother. Had something important happened?

"I'm sorry." He moved to sit with her, wrapping his fluffy tail around her body to pull her in. "You needed me, didn't you?"

Moonpaw gave a nod. "Something terrible happened...." her expression looked haunted. Hazepaw began to groom between her ears to encourage her to talk about it. "...One of my denmates was struck and killed by a monster during our assessment yesterday. I...I was almost attacked too."

Shock struck through his pelt, straight to his heart. Hazepaw pulled back. "You...what? Stars, Moonpaw! I had no idea...! I..." he trailed off, flashes of Moonpaw as the victim of a car attack filling his mind. Her long silver fur splayed on the black stone, splattered in blood. Her body torn apart and crushed by the strength of the monster. Her face contorted in agony and fear. The hypothetical after image was too much to handle.

Hazepaw immediately wrapped his forepaws around Moonpaw, pulling the molly closer to himself. He trembled, trying to rid himself of the sudden fear that'd overcome him. He'd almost lost her, and he was nowhere to be found when it happened! Guilt started to eat at Hazepaw's belly, but he tried push it away.

What could he have done, if something did happen? They lived clans apart, and now an entire territory-length. He might not have known Moonpaw was gone until the next Gathering. Then he would feel even worse, missing out on meeting her the past two days. Hazepaw would never forgive himself if that happened. He knew it was a part of life--the risk of living wild and free, and being a warrior--but the thought of his dear friend dying was just....

Hazepaw shook his head, dipping it to bury his face in Moonpaw's fur. It was at that moment Hazepaw realized he felt something stronger for Moonpaw than he'd ever felt for anyone else. But he still couldn't place what the feeling was. All he knew was that he cared for this she-cat deeply, and he didn't want any terrible harm to come to her.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," he whispered, nuzzling her, "but I'm here now. And I'll keep being here from now on. I won't skip any of our meetings ever again, if I can help it."

"You mean it..?" Moonpaw asked.

Hazepaw nodded, finding a lump had formed in his throat.

Moonpaw sighed, "Thank you....I really missed you."

"I missed you too," Hazepaw mewed softly, pulling back to look at her. He studied her features for a few heartbeats, searching for any signs of distress or anguish. Yet none were reflected on her pretty silver face. Only relief. Hazepaw sighed, bringing himself closer to the pretty she-cat once more.

They sat quietly together like this for a while. The only sounds echoing around them were the swaying trees and their soft purrs. It was peaceful. For a few moments, the two of them could pretend everything was alright. But Hazepaw knew deep down it wasn't.

"...Your clan's been losing so many apprentices lately. How is anybody able to stand it?" He piped after some thought.

Moonpaw perked her ears. "I was talking to Badgerface about it this morning, actually. He said it's to be expected in any apprentice class. Treeclan is good at keeping its kits safe. But once they leave the safety of camp....their survival rate drops significantly. " she explained. Moonpaw looked away, as if she were ashamed to divulge such information. Hazepaw doubted it was a Treeclan secret, though. Blazestar would have to announce the deaths at Gatherings. Even if it was a secret, it must have been an open one.

"My clanmate, Fogpaw, has experienced it personally. Every cat in his apprentice class has died, except for him."

"I thought he had those two she-cats in his class who are still around?" Hazepaw recalled. He'd seen three similarly aged Treeclan apprentices at one of the recent Gatherings. He remembered Fogpaw, for his striking smoke gray coat and large stature. And the she-cats had been acting too obnoxious to ignore.

"You mean Meadowpaw and Emberpaw? They came to Treeclan a few moons ago. They were rogues. Without them, Fogpaw would be alone."

"So even his littermates...?" Hazepaw trailed off.

Moonpaw nodded. "One starved in Leafbare. The other caught greencough. That's what he said, at least."

"No wonder why Treeclan's always having so many kittens," Hazepaw muttered, moreso to himself.

"Badgerface said its Starclan's way of balancing things out." Moonpaw lowered her head, voice soft.

Hazepaw growled. "It's cruel."

Moonpaw gave a small shrug. "It's life...." That sounded more like something he would say, not sweet caring Moonpaw! The weight of her words really spoke of the effect her clanmate's death was having on her.

Hazepaw snarled, lashing his tail. Silverpelt really is selfish, then, he realized, recalling what he'd heard from the tale of The Moon and Ocean earlier in the day.

"If it's all the same to you," Moonpaw cut into his thoughts, "I'd rather not talk about this subject anymore..."

"Of course," Hazepaw agreed, nuzzling her. Silence fell over the apprentices once again, but it felt a little uncomfortable now. There had to be something to brighten their spirits back up.

Hazepaw thought for a while, grooming Moonpaw as he did. Moonpaw leaned into him, smelling so sweetly of tree sap and forest mulch. Her scent almost put him into a trance. She was so alluring, so wonderful. As his focus honed in on her sweet smell, a plan finally popped into his mind. Something to lift the mood off of the morbid topics they'd found themselves discussing, Hazepaw nudged Moonpaw to run an idea by her.

"Hey, how about you teach me something from Treeclan?" He suggested.

Moonpaw hummed. "Like what?"

"Liiiike....How to climb trees?" He proposed, hopeful. It was a bizarre request, he knew. But the ability could probably serve to be useful someday. Utilize the skills of your enemies when you can, he'd remembered Sea Breeze telling him before.

Moonpaw perked with surprise. "You mean you don't know how?"

Hazepaw snorted playfully. That wasn't a question he expected her to ask. He thought she'd question why he'd want to learn, or how it would even benefit him. "Do I look like I've ever set a claw into a tree before? I live by the ocean, remember?"

"But you were in the Forest Patch for a moon! I'm shocked that your clan didn't try using the trees to their advantage."

"Half of my clan is too lazy. The other half have too much pride to try."

"Do you not?" Moonpaw teased.

Hazepaw puffed out his chest. "I've got plenty of pride! But I also know climbing would be smart to learn. So, will you teach me?"

Humming again in contemplation, Moonpaw rose to her paws. "Alright," she agreed, beckoning the white apprentice to follow her with a swish of her tail.

The pair picked their way up the Rubble Path, and into the forest. They'd done it before, during their other meetings, but Moonpaw seemed more uneasy inviting him into the territory this time. Her pawsteps were more cautious the further they tredded past Treeclan's border.

"Um, before we begin, would you roll in this mint patch?" She requested after a pause, pointing to a cluster of plants close by with her tail.

Hazepaw drew back his top lip in distaste. "Why would I do that?"

"To disguise your scent," Moonpaw clarified. "Flamepath and Thrushmask taught my apprentice class about it today. I also think its a good idea, because Blazestar mentioned smelling Oceanclan across the border during the Gathering."

"Do you think anyone caught my scent?"

Moonpaw twitched her ears. "Probably. So, we have to be more careful now."

Hazepaw gulped, looking at the mint patch as if it were filled with searing thorns. At least he hoped it wasn't filled with thorns. He didn't know much about plants. But Hazepaw doubted Moonpaw would do anything to hurt him. She wasn't the type to pull a mean prank, either. That would be something Otterpaw might do. So, Hazepaw flopped himself between the mint leaves, rolling around to cover his entire body. The smell was incredibly strong, especially when laying in the plant itself. Hazepaw could only describe the scent as cold, and sharp. But it wasn't nasty, just very unpleasant.

When he figured he'd covered himself enough, Hazepaw rose to his paws and followed Moonpaw over a thick group of oak trees. He tilted his head back, trying to see how far up they went. The oaks had to be at least a ten bear-lengths high. How in Starclan can Treeclan stand to be that high up? He wondered, his nervousness growing. Regret began to tingle in his paws. He felt like retracting his climbling request and running back to the familiarity of the beach. But he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Moonpaw. Besides, he knew Sea Breeze would chastise him for running away from a challenge if he did. So, he put on a brave face, awaiting Moonpaw's instructions.

Moonpaw looked thoughtful. As if she were trying to figure out the best words to say. She walked up to one of the smaller trees in the area with a prrp of excitement. "This should be an easy one for you," she told Hazepaw, lifting a paw and placing it onto the oak's trunk. "Do what I do, ok?"

Hazepaw moved to stand beside her, placing his paw on the tree like she had. He was a fast learner, surely following in Moonpaw's pawprints would allow him to pick up the necessary skills.

Hazepaw flexed his claws, fitting them into the ridges of the wood. He felt how good of a foothold they would provide and felt calmer knowing he wouldn't easily slip.

Moonpaw took a pace back after a heartbeat, crouching down. Her focus pointed towards their selected tree before she suddenly sprang onto it. All four paws gripped the bark in front of her. The Treeclan apprentice clung to it like a squirrel, lifting one paw then the next as she made her ascent into the branches above. A few scraps of wood chipped and sprinkled onto Hazepaw pelt as he observed her technique.

"You want to dig your claws into the grooves of the bark. But not too deep, or it'll be hard to move," Moonpaw instructed as she climbed.

Seems simple enough, Hazepaw figured, readying himself to follow her up.

Stepping back to gather his haunches, Hazepaw leaped at the tree from beneath Moonpaw, clinging to it with forepaws spread wide. He felt so awkward clinging to the trunk and felt a slight burning from how far out his limbs stretched.

By this point, Moonpaw had already made her way to a branch, observing him from above. She looked like a Starclan warrior with the moonlight sparkling on her fur. Hazepaw felt in awe, but the sensation quickly dissipated with her teasing laughter.

"You look like a kit!" she commented, cheeks lifted with her beautiful smile. "Only kittens cling to trees the way you are!"

Embarrassment began to burn beneath his pelt. "Shut up!" Hazepaw hissed. "I don't know what I'm doing!"

"I can tell," Moonpaw giggled, jumping down from the tree branch back into the undergrowth below. "Come down, let's try this together," she requested.

Hazepaw moved his legs awkwardly, trying to figure out how to get down from where he was. Should he climb the way he'd gotten up?

"Just let go and land on your paws. You're not too far up, you should be safe, " Moonpaw reassure him. Hazepaw sighed to quell his nerves, trusting the pretty silver she-cat. He released his grip, falling to the earth below. His legs burned slightly upon impact, but otherwise he was unscathed.

Moonpaw padded up to him and pressed her side against his.

"Great try," she praised, "this time follow my moves more closely. We'll climb at the same time."

Hazepaw nodded, following her a pace back from the small oak. Moonpaw dropped once again into a crouch, springing from her place onto the tree bark. Hazepaw noticed how closely inward she kept her limbs. It was the same position one would hold while stalking on the ground. Hazepaw copied her, landing on the tree a mouse-length beside her. He dug his claws into the tree's grooves trying not to go too deep. But from the way he'd landed he felt like he'd slip off. Moonpaw didn't seem worried, though.

"You've got it, now move one paw after another and pull up. Dominate side first." She took a pace or two upwards. Her left paws pulled her higher before the right followed along. Hazepaw mimicked her movements. "Keep your eyes on the bark just above you, so you know where your next foothold will be. Your focus should always remain on the tree, so you won't get dizzy or scared from the height."

Hazepaw took in her words, putting them to practice. He paid close attention to where the best place to put his paws was, hoisting himself higher and higher into the tree. Moonpaw was beside him the whole way.

Hazepaw's pawpads began to sting from the rough texture of the tree. But they were nearly to the top. As they closed in on a branch, Moonpaw extended a paw towards it, pulling herself onto it with a twist of her body and a good pull. Hazepaw copied with his own branch, his back paws slipping slightly as he pulled himself onto it. A slight shock of panic ran through him, before he finally managed to steady himself on the thick tree's limb. He chuckled slightly, if only as an outlet to release his anxiety. Moonpaw seemed to think he did it out of confidence.

"There you go!" She cheered. "Soon you'll be an expert at this!"

"Heh, you think so?" Hazepaw mused. Moonpaw shimmied across the tree's trunk to get onto the branch he sat upon. She pressed her shoulder into his affectionately, rubbing the side of her muzzle on his.

"Definitely," she purred. "You ready for the next step?"

"Next step?" Hazepaw echoed. They were already in the tree, what else was there to do?

Moonpaw carefully moved past him, balancing her way towards the end of the branch. She looked dainty doing it, her tail held in the air for balance. "The next step is learning how to cross!" She meowed, crouching. With a strong leap, she hurdled herself over to the branch of an adjacent tree. The limb shook with the force of her weight, yet Moonpaw appeared unaffected by the motion.

Hazepaw felt unsure after watching what she'd done. His own branch felt unsteady now with the tremble her leap had created. Hazepaw was afraid he might fall off from the movement. But after a heartbeat the branch stilled, easing the white tom a little.

Taking a deep breath, Hazepaw stalked his way across the branch, as far a he dared. He could hear the wood creaking under his heft.

"Make sure you don't go out too far. The branch may break if you do," Moonpaw warned, walking back to make way for Hazepaw to come forward.

Hazepaw heeded her cautious words, deciding where he stood would be a safe enough launching point. He awkwardly crouched on the tree's end, before pushing off and flinging himself towards Moonpaw. Her branch bounced with his landing, so hard that Hazepaw had to hold on with all four paws. Only when it stilled again did he dare to rise to meet his friend. Moonpaw trilled at him, walking backwards to create space for him once more. Hazepaw smiled at her, then looked over his shoulder at where he'd come from. There was a rabbit-length sized gap between the two branches, and for a heartbeat Hazepaw thought about what if he hadn't jumped far enough. Would he have fallen? He shook out his pelt, trying to rid himself of the image that came along with it. Moonpaw giggled at him, rubbing her muzzle on his again.

"You did great," she praised. "We'll practice this again another night. How about we get you down from here?" She suggested. She could probably smell his fear-scent. Hazepaw nodded, following her to the new tree's trunk. "Climb down backwards, the same way you had climbing up." The silver molly demonstrated. Hazepaw was sure he could do the same. Turning to face upward on the trunk was a little awkward, though. But he managed to get himself down without any issues. Relief flooded through him when he felt soft earth beneath his pawpads. He'd never been so happy to be in the mulch than he had at that moment.

"This was fun," he chuckled. Though he hadn't realized the experience would be so frightening. Hazepaw always prided himself on his bravery. But he supposed even the greatest warriors had things to fear. Perhaps heights were one of his.

"It was! I never thought you'd want to climb with me. I can't wait to do it again," Moonpaw purred, licking his cheek. Hazepaw didn't know if he wanted to try climbing again. But Moonpaw's excitement was infectious. For her, Hazepaw decided he could put himself through that again. Probably. He chuckled, nuzzling into her. Then he paused, a familiar smell catching in his scent glands. Moonpaw's pelt prickled, clearly she'd picked up on what he had as well.

"Quick," she whisper-hissed, crouching, "you need to hi-"

But it was too late. A Treeclan warrior made their presence known to them. She emerged from the undergrowth with tail wagging and ears lowered, her ginger pelt bristling.

"What do you think you two are doing?" The warrior challenged, marching over to them. Hazepaw recognized her as Moonpaw's clanmate, Flamepath.

"We...were just...-" Moonpaw tried to justify, but the ginger warrior interjected.

"I knew something strange was going on with you," Flamepath meowed. "Emberpaw said she'd noticed some nights you'd be missing from your nest. I thought it was odd, too. But I brushed her off, because you're always such a well behaved apprentice. Now I see I should have been more suspicious!"

"Flamepath, I..I'm sorry, I-" Moonpaw tried again to explain herself.

Then she was cut off by a mrrow of laughter from another cat. A mysterious warrior came out from the bushes closeby, walking to Flamepath's side. "Oh, Flamey, don't be so harsh. They're startled enough as it is."

"Well I can't help being a little mad! These clumsy furballs could end up getting us all in trouble!" The ginger molly explained, her attention solely fixated on the tabby beside her. Flamepath leaned into the fluffy tom, purring softly. The warrior in turn licked her cheek, affection glowing in his eyes.

Hazepaw's pelt bushed in surprise. He knew he recognized that scent! "Minnowjaw?!" Hazepaw almost yowled his clanmate's name. "You're meeting with Flamepath!?"

Minnowjaw snorted cockily. "That's right, and I ain't ashamed of it, either!" He boasted.

"Hang on--does Blazestar know about you two?" Moonpaw questioned, standing back up. Now it was her turn to be suspicious. Serves these fish-brains right, Hazepaw thought with a smirk.

Flamepath groomed down her chest fur. "Uh, well, not yet..." she admitted almost bashfully. "We've been talking about how to introduce each other to our leaders, though. But we didn't expect to get caught before our relationship became public."

"We didn't catch you, though." Moonpaw tilted her head.

"You smelled us, didn't you? It was only a matter of heartbeats before you noticed us hiding out. We figured what use was there in remaining unseen?" Minnowjaw answered.

"Why are you even out here at this time of night?" Flamepath turned her attention back onto the apprentices, clearly deflecting.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hazepaw deadpanned, his tone mocking. "We're hanging out." Hazepaw thought the molly's question was stupid. How could she not see they were all here for the same reason?

"But you shouldn't be, given you're still 'Paws. Apprentices can't take mates. Especially cross-clan mates. If anyone else were to find out you'd be mocked for it. And if Blazestar or Wavestar were to know..."

"Well it's a good thing it wasn't somebody else!" Hazepaw interjected. Moonpaw nudged him with her rear flank.

"You're right," Minnowjaw agreed. "But you should try to be careful from now on."

"We are," Moonpaw mewed, ducking her head. "We tried to disguise Hazepaw's scent before we started spending time together."

"That was smart of you," Flamepath praised.

"Ah, gull-dung, look at the time," Minnowjaw prompted his mate, pointing her attention upwards. The inky blackness of the sky was starting to bloom into violet light. Dawn was approaching.

"We should get going," Flamepath agreed, wrapping her tail around him. "We'll meet again soon. Moonpaw, say goodnight and come home with me now."

"Aww, do I have to?" Moonpaw whined a little. Flamepath fixed her with a glare. Moonpaw lowered her head, then turned to press herself against Hazepaw. "I'm sorry...Please come see me soon," she whispered into his ear.

Hazepaw licked her cheek and purred. He wished the night didn't have to end already. "I will, on our usual night. I promise," he whispered in return. He pulled back to look into her soft green eyes.

"May the branches hold your weight, both of you" Flamepath meowed, guiding Moonpaw away into the forest with a whisk of her tail.

I'm trying to get back into writing for the series, and I've had 2 chapters fully written and waiting to be published for the past year. So I thought what the hell, let's get back to it!

From now on I'm not giving myself a word limit. What started burning me out before was trying to keep my writing at or under 4k words, because I'd had a couple people complain chapters were too long. But I don't want to be restricted like that anymore so I'm gonna write however much I want to. Another thing is there isn't going to be a specific chapter release time. They'll be done when they're done. Implementing a due date was the worst thing I could have done for myself. I'm not going to make that mistake again. This is a hobby and for fun. I'm going to treat this project as such.

I'm hoping that posting these new chapters will inspire me to return to writing for the series again. I'm not sure but I'll try to push on and do as much as my mind will allow. It'd be nice to at least finish either Moon High or Snowfrost's Fate after so long (both would be even better). I can't promise I'll make it to write Moon Fall, though. Whenever I decide to stop for good, I'll make sure to talk about whatever ideas and plans I never get to show.